I'm A Celeb star GK Barry's mum speaks out on jungle stint as she vows - 'This is only the beginning'
GK Barry's proud mama, Loretta, is all for her daughter winning the title of Queen of the Jungle, as she told the Mirror, "I am just so proud of her." Watching her 25 year old, also known as Grace, smash it on I'm A Celebrity has been nothing short of awe-inspiring for Loretta. The youngster, who already had a strong online presence, is just now hitting the mainstream spotlight, and her mum reckoned it was bound to happen.
"Both her father and I are absolutely incredibly proud of what she’s doing," gushed Loretta. "We feel this is only the beginning. Once people get to know Grace, she will become an absolute comedy legend. She’s good at entertaining people of all ages, and it’s really exciting to see her on the screen for the first time. She’ll be her amazing self."
When quizzed about Grace's chances of winning she said, "Yeah, I think she could. If she puts her mind to it, Grace can do anything." Despite facing her creepy-crawly fears in the "Vile Volcano" challenge - where she encountered rats, lizards, snakes, and came out triumphant with nine stars – there's great optimism about her journey ahead.
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Where cockroaches once left her distraught, Loretta is certain: "I think the more she does, the stronger she’ll get. Whatever she needs to do, I know Grace will do it and she’ll give it her all." Apparently, even as a little one, Grace was petrified of bugs.
"I wouldn’t expect anything less from Grace...she’s always been a bit of a scaredy cat," she shared. As the series unfolds, Loretta is hopeful that viewers will get to see more of the "real Grace" and how she’s "up for anything". Her playful nature has won over the Loose Women bosses who brought her on board as a guest presenter just before her jungle adventure. She even invited her mum to join her and experience the glitz and glamour. "They treated me beautifully. I’ll always remember that," she said. "I am so proud of her, what an achievement."
On Tuesday night’s show, GK opened up about how her mum had accepted her relationship with footballer Ella Rutherford. She revealed: "It was by accident I found Ella, through a mutual friend and then I really liked her the first day I met her but I’d never told my parents. I’d mentioned, ‘Oh I’m just going to see my friend Ella’ or ‘I’m staying round Ella’s’ so they’d heard her name."
Recalling a time when her parents visited her house while Ella was there, they asked: "Who’s Ella?" and she responded: "Oh. she’s my girlfriend". She explained to her campmates: "They just love her, they never had an issue with it....they’ve always said whoever you end up with we do not care, boy or girl we don’t care, as long as they’re not a d*ck. "
GK has previously referred to herself as a ‘WAG’, and it's believed that the couple started dating earlier this year. She frequently shares glimpses into her relationship with Ella on social media. Grace took to TikTok to post a vid of her culinary exploits, captioning it with a cheeky welcome: "Welcome to another episode of cooking for my wife, because I’m a WAG."
